Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,270,000 shares, a decrease of 8.5% from the October 31st total of 2,480,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,020,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Equifax Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of EFX stock traded up $2.47 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $261.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 715,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 873,860. The stock has a market cap of $32.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.04, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. Equifax has a 52-week low of $213.02 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $272.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $268.83.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.76 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Equifax will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is 34.67%.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total value of $15,770,648.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. This represents a 34.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total transaction of $272,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044 over the last 90 days. 1.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 76,913.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 960,362 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $282,212,000 after buying an additional 959,115 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Equifax by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,233,744 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $950,268,000 after acquiring an additional 880,162 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 863,718 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $251,480,000 after purchasing an additional 220,109 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Equifax by 4.9% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,276,798 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,036,952,000 after purchasing an additional 200,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 127.1% during the second quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 350,356 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $84,947,000 after purchasing an additional 196,106 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $306.74.

About Equifax

Equifax Inc operates as a data, analytics, and technology company. The company operates through three segments: Workforce Solutions, U.S. Information Solutions (USIS), and International. The Workforce Solutions segment offers services that enables customers to verify income, employment, educational history, criminal justice data, healthcare professional licensure, and sanctions of people in the United States; and employer customers with services that assist them in complying with and automating payroll-related and human resource management processes throughout the entire cycle of the employment relationship.